Since childhood, we learned our 1, 2, 3’s through to our A, B, C’s in a classroom setting, engaging with our peers and listening to our teachers. Fast forward to adulthood, and it appears a similar technique via Shared Medical Appointments may be the answer to our chronic disease epidemic.

The Australasian Society of Lifestyle Medicine (ASLM) has been pioneering Shared Medical Appointments (SMAs) in Australasia for some years, including conducting pilot trials and advocating for the concept to be recognised within the current Medicare reimbursement system.

Also known as ‘Group Visits’ or ‘Drop in Group Medical Appointments’ in the US, an SMA is, “A series […]

From the President

Dr Hamish Meldrum, MBChB, DRANZCOG, FRACGP

Reaction to health-related measures in the budget has been swift and insightful. A selection of formal responses to the budget as it relates to health is provided below for your information, and also this excellent summary from The Conversation.